Blog • Opium Teahouse

Mentioning Danish food immediately brings the New Nordic cuisine to mind. Spearheaded by Noma, it uses local ingredients, is concerned with the purity and freshness of produce and minimalistic plating. Yet, it’s not a cuisine known for its veggie friendliness.

And it's not surprising, as one of Denmark's most famed foods, Smørrebrød, translates as “bread and butter”. Nonetheless, this is not to say that Copenhagen is not veggie friendly.

With several vegan restaurants and bakeries, a city that is focused on healthy living is starting to catch up with times.

An endeavour from the guys behind Mikkeller and Chef Takuro Otani, Ramen To Biiru brings Japan to Copenhagen.

Housed in a ubiquitous neo-classic white building, the restaurant revealed its true colours when we stepped inside. Designed as traditional Japanese ramen house, you order from a ticket machine, place the order at the counter, and grab a seat.

The only vegan option, called “No-Meat Ramen”, contains a mix of mushrooms, bamboo shoots and wakamé seaweed in a miso based broth. Together with a specially brewed Yuzu beer from Mikkeller, it was one of the best meals we had in the city.

Purveyors of a delicious vegetarian buffet, RizRaz has two restaurants in central Copenhagen.

The place shouldn’t be dismissed based on their location, as it serves reasonably priced healthy options and is conveniently located to explore the central part of the city. The buffet dishes include roasted vegetables, salads, falafel and several types of hummus.

“Homemade Nutella and Jam are on the counter, help yourselves”, she said with a smile as she laid our orders on the table. I was sold.

Kalaset is Swedish owned café serving homemade food amidst a plethora of vintage memorabilia. Touted as the place for brunch in the city, the vegan options are plenty and clearly marked on the menu.

The vegan Tante Bønne option will deliver a bountiful plate of colourful fruits, chilli sin carne and other veggie goodness that bring happiness and satiated through the rest of the day.

The but Kalaset is not only worth a visit for the food. The whole place is reminiscent of a Scandi grandmother’s apartment. Vintage radios on the walls, mismatched tables and crockery, and other knick-knacks fill every bit of counter space. It created that well known hygge atmosphere that made us linger well beyond the end of the meal.

There’s nothing we enjoy more than brushing shoulders with locals. At Stefanos, in the cool neighbourhood of Nørrebro, we did just that. Serving homemade Italian dishes, their pizzas are extremely popular with the local crowd.

Despite having only one vegetarian option (make it vegan by ordering without cheese) it is a filling and colourful one. With plenty of veggies and a moreish tomato sauce, it’s not hard to understand why the hype.

Order inside and sit in the outdoor area (if you can!) while waiting for the food. Since it’s such a busy place, do like the locals and grab a beer from Mikkeller and Friends across the street.

Navigating the busy corridors of Papirøen’s indoor food market proves difficult when you’re hungry. The whiffs of pizza and other delicatessens dance around you, competing for your attention.

But with so little vegan options inside, we had a set goal: finding La Tienda. As one of the two vegan food trucks of Parpirøen, La Tienda serves burgers with a Colombian twist.

Both their quinoa and pulled burgers are moist, wells spiced and with the perfect amount of sauce. The burgers are best enjoyed sitting outside in one of the deck chairs with views to the Theatre house. And don’t forget to try their plantain chips!

GOOD TO KNOW

The Danish word for Vegan is Vegansk. However, Denmark has one of the highest English proficiencies in the world and it's very easy to communicate special requests to waiters.

Download Happy Cow, the veggie food app/website, listing all the veggie restaurants available near you.